N2Growth Blog

JUNE 14, 2010

The most successful companies incorporate disruptive thinking into all of their business and management practices to gain distinctive competitive value propositions. So why do so many established and often well managed companies struggle with disruptive innovation? Why didn’t IBM see Dell coming?

Business Model 316

Business Model Blog Disruptive Innovation Brand 316

Strategy Driven

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Before you resign yourself to living in your own not-so-amusing TV show, let me offer some commonsense management advice. I launched a number of successful business ventures, including OfficeMax and my newest business, Max-Wellness, a new and unique health and wellness retail chain.

Motivation 51

Motivation Management How To Retail 51

Strategy Driven

JULY 13, 2011

While you can find numerous books focused on the topic of corporate finance, few offer the type of information managers need to help them make important decisions day in and day out. Examines ways to maintain and grow value through mergers, acquisitions, and portfolio management.

ROIC 62

ROIC Balanced Scorecard Metrics McKinsey 62

Strategy Driven

JANUARY 21, 2011

One retail CTO summed it up well at a recent SAS event when he said, “We don’t want to just struggle through and be hanging by our fingertips when the economy recovers. Gabor George Burt encourages organizations to defy conventional wisdom, and then simultaneously pursue a differentiated strategy with lower costs. Innovate quickly.

Real Estate 66

Real Estate Magazine Rogers Long-term 66

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 26, 2014

There is no fee charged to retailers who use it and no exorbitant interest rates lying in wait for consumers. And yet cash does carry costs. My colleague Benjamin Mazzotta and I have been studying the costs of cash across a wide range of countries: U.S., Cash – by which I mean paper currency and coins — has many benefits.

Cost 8

Cost Transportation Banking Retail 8

Strategy Driven

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Finance Without Fear : A Guide to Creating and Managing a Profitable Business by William S. Hettinger and John Dolan-Heitlinger Finance Without Fear should be read by anyone starting or managing a business. The easy-to-read style helps remove the fear of finance for the entrepreneur, the small business owner, and the manager.

Finance 50

Finance Uncertainty Case Study Competitive Advantage 50

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 3, 2011

The big question for many leaders as they look toward 2011 is: "How can my company be one of them?". To lay the right foundation: Treat strategy, capabilities and cost together: What the company already does best should be driving its strategic direction. Similarly, think about every item of cost as an investment.

Strategy 15

Strategy Fixed Assets Competitive Advantage Long-term 15

Strategy Driven

DECEMBER 27, 2010

The increase in private sector jobs suggests that retail and factory jobs will continue to climb. Health insurance costs for small businesses increased from 1999 to 2007. Will the steady increase in the economy translate into a positive hiring forecast? The results are mixed.

Uncertainty 57

Uncertainty Insurance Newsletter Incentives 57

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 29, 2011

Our most-read slideshow in 2011 was " Difficult Conversations: Nine Common Mistakes." We explored why some strengths — being a good storyteller, having great social skills — can actually cost salespeople in the long run. Every December, we collect our favorite management insights from each interviewee into this slideshow.

Video 15

Video Porter Charisma Customer Loyalty 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

The managing director needs to know when and where we're launching. These were exciting times for their employer, the German automaker Vado, as it moved into the rapidly expanding e-bike industry, but Stefanie, the manager of the new e-bike unit, was feeling the weight of the decisions she faced. "I I can't wait any longer.

Cost 8

Cost Marketing Management Sample 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 20, 2013

In 2009, two bright, young entrepreneurs in India saw a key pain point with local retailers, who had no ability to engage with their existing customers. So they developed an "emerging market" technology solution centered on mobile phone text messaging and low-cost cloud server networks. They quickly found traction in developed nations.

Technology 11

Technology Innovation CRM Retail 11

Strategy Driven

OCTOBER 26, 2011

When you take the time to focus, have discipline, and require follow-up, whether you’re a business owner, a manager, or an employee moving up the ladder, you’re creating a road map that documents what has to be accomplished and by when. billion sale in his 16 years as CEO Beating the competition is never easy. Consider leaving a comment!

Bottom-up 50

Bottom-up Sharpe Follow-up Retail 50

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 6, 2014

Troubles at Tesco, the UK’s leading retailer, are mounting. If round after round of profit warnings was not enough – group operating profits fell 20% between 2011 and 2013 and are likely to fall another 30% in 2014 — the company recently announced it had overstated its first-half profit by about $400 million. How did this happen?

Retail 11

Retail Merchandising Discount Price 11

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

State after state enacted laws to tax chain retailers , to prohibit price discounting, and to protect small merchants and the wholesalers who served them against the onslaught of the chains. A group called the Anti-Monopoly League, which claimed to represent 80,000 independent merchants, announced its intention to drive chain retailers out.

Retail 11

Retail P&L Price Advertising 11

Strategy Driven

DECEMBER 23, 2020

as well as the Tohoku earthquake in Japan in 2011. Ultimately, this failure to undergo the long and expensive process of mapping led to greater costs and a loss of transparency when disaster struck. In addition, machine learning can be used to manage warehouses more efficiently. THE PANDEMIC PRESENTS UNIQUE CHALLENGES.

Supply Chain 117

Supply Chain Compliance Fashion Efficiency 117

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 11, 2013

Penney''s CEO was a catastrophe — an assessment captured in the coverage of his ouster this week: "Former Apple Retail Guru Dumped;" "How Ron Johnson Made JCPenney Even Worse;" and my favorite: "I Am Become Ron Johnson, Destroyer of Worlds." Innovation Leadership Retail' Ron Johnson''s 17-month tenure as J.C. It''s true.

Merchandising 9

Merchandising Retail Gordon Price 9

Harvard Business Review

JULY 17, 2015

Others may simply see no alternative to trying to keep the brand going at any cost, even if that means aggressive discounting, cheap licensing, or other tactics that erode long-term brand value. ’” Purpose might have informed the management of two failed brands – Blockbuster and Radio Shack — differently.

Brand 8

Brand Merchandising Retail Real Estate 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 4, 2014

However, with China’s growth slowing over the past two years, costs shooting up, the government making life difficult for multinational companies, and confusion following the reforms emanating from the Third Plenum in November 2013, some companies are heading in the opposite direction.

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain Retail Chemicals Marketing 9

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Consequently, although companies should cut costs now, they should be on the lookout for the quick rebound that is likely to follow. The bullwhip effect is the amplified response to demand signals as one moves “upstream” in the supply chain: from retailers to manufacturers to suppliers to commodity providers.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Retail Crisis Operations 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2017

Some companies that made the list were obvious choices; for example, the biggest online retailer now gets most of its profit from cloud services (Amazon). We see an interesting pattern across the professionally managed companies, those whose CEOs were hired by the board. These CEOs are what we call “insider outsiders.”

Franchising 15

Franchising CEO Business Model Strategy 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 15, 2013

While competitors like Compaq and IBM sold PCs through retailers, distributors, and resellers, Dell sold directly to its customers, offering highly customized PCs at a time when the cost of computers was high enough to still require significant tradeoffs. Yet the improved financial position came at a cost.

Rivkin 15

Rivkin Succession Short-term Case Study 15

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 14, 2018

Writing in the Sloan Management Review, Boston College professor Gerald Kane noted that 87% of executives surveyed indicated that digital technologies will disrupt their industries to a great or moderate extent. Starting in 2011, Mercedes chose to develop direct distribution capabilities for electric bicycle sales under its Smart brand.

Strategy 10

Strategy B2B Insurance Business Model 10

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

“Meaning is the new money, an HBR article argued in 2011. million in annual turnover-related costs for every 10,000 workers, when all employees feel their work is highly meaningful. Managers trained in coaching techniques that focus on fostering creativity and engagement can serve this role as well.

Creativity 15

Creativity Report Conference Mentor 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 29, 2012

A 2011 IBM study of over 3,000 CIOs revealed that CIO-CEO alignment is stronger than ever, with traditional companies aggressively investing in technology innovation. Big-box retailers, like Best Buy, now have large, fast growing e-commerce businesses. A few years ago, community managers did not exist.

Technology 14

Technology Venture Capitalist CIO ROI 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 4, 2014

The tales of two companies, cell phone accessories retailer Cellairis and skin care products maker Rodan + Fields, illustrate the dangers of top-level strategic tinkering. They had the epiphany that they could use cheap retail space – the carts that sit in the middle of shopping malls – to sell mobile phone accessories, mostly cases.

Strategy 8

Strategy Wireless Company Retail 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 31, 2015

While consumers are rightfully worried that their personal information may be compromised, shareholders and companies’ management have a wider set of concerns, including loss of intellectual property, operational disruption, decreased customer trust, tarnished brand, and loss of investor commitment. The stock price declined 0.3%

Price 8

Price Long-term Banking Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 28, 2018

Large companies in industries ranging from retail, to aerospace, to financial services are buying talent and technology to develop new digital capabilities and reinvent themselves quickly. Notably tech firms acquired an average 250 tech companies annually between 2002 and 2011 and 350 in the years since. Julian Watt/Getty Images.

Company 8

Company Business Model Price Technology 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 22, 2015

A decade ago, there was no market at all for low-cost electric bikes. With no official addresses, delivery of online purchases or local retail distribution near these people was almost impossible until the two companies entered into partnerships with local community groups to map these areas. Between 2004 and 2011, only 1.4%

Strategy 8

Strategy Insurance Transportation GDP 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 20, 2013

Another team developed a plan to reuse and optimize networking systems in offices, which cut energy costs by $22 million. New data shows that sustainability is an increasingly important factor in attracting and managing talent. Sustainability Talent management' They equip employees with the right tools and training.

Metrics 9

Metrics Chemicals Simon Energy 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 19, 2014

In our research on change agents at the Phoenix Community of FCB Partners , we have found that there are three distinct challenges which require different kinds of change leaders: (1) transformational leaders, (2) innovation instigators, and (3) innovation managers. The Innovation Manager. The Transformational Leader.

Balanced Scorecard 8

Balanced Scorecard Innovation Globalization Micromanagement 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Bank of America recently considered a $5 fee for customers to get their own money via their debit card because they have to find a way to fund all those retail storefronts. Case in point: Gap missed many of its performance numbers in 2011 by believing that their only interaction with their customers happened at the cash register.

Banking 16

Banking Business Model Supply Chain Mass Marketing 16

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 13, 2013

On June 14, 2011, JCP appointed Apple Store star Ron Johnson as CEO to replace what activist investor Bill Ackman derided as the completely failed regime of then-CEO Mike Ullman, who had apparently badly mismanaged JCP for his seven years at the helm. It has been a surreal two years for shareholders, customers, and employees of J.

Strategy 8

Strategy Execution Merchandising Price 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

The news is part of a larger trend of closings that some are calling the retail apocalypse. The rise of e-commerce, combined with a shift in consumer preference toward dining out over shopping and with years of overbuilding , has made for distinctly unattractive economics in traditional retail. billion purchase of Whole Foods.

Retail 9

Retail Blue Ocean Strategy Mauborgne Comparison 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

And that is just the beginning: Today, Campbell is working to attract food retailers to Camden's food desert — the city has only one supermarket — and helping to build neighborhood gardens to get children closer to the food supply. Focusing these efforts on food and nutrition has allowed us to smartly leverage our resources.

Company 14

Company Real Estate Retail Commitment 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Management set out to build the best customer experience possible by instituting a training program for sales staff and fully committing themselves to its implementation. The results are staggering: same-store sales are up 55% from the first half of 2011 to the same period in 2012. What we found was literally a blueprint for success.

TSR 15

TSR Apparel Consultative Uncertainty 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 9, 2013

On September 16, 2011, the America Invents Act (AIA) , a major modification to the Patent Act, was signed into law – a modification that makes the kind of “public disclosure” the iPhone 4 experienced a real impediment to an inventor’s securing a patent. Design Patent D627,778 eventually issued covering the design of the iPhone 4.

Magazine 8

Magazine Engineering Productivity Products 8

Strategy Driven

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Yet, most CEOs were never trained on how to be CEOs, with all the responsibility, people skills, leadership and ethical management that must go along with the job. This book states the case for more of a macro-focused approach to management. High Costs, Learning Curves. What we do with fear and uncertainty determines who we are.

Ethics 59

Ethics Cost Crisis Learning-by-Doing 59